Tragic News All Around

Tragedy Fatigue is a concept that suggests repeated exposure to catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, war, and other events where there is a loss of life, can wear down the spirit and psyche of a society. This past year or so has been especially rough on the collective psyche; Earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan, violence with the ‘Arab Spring’ revolts in the Middle East, wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes. Thus, watching the news constantly of these tragic events can easily affect anyone – such is why, I suggest, that stories of infidelity and cheating may not be all that bad for society’s psyche. For awhile I thought that the major news networks were covering too much ‘sensationlism’ news; stories about affairs, scandals, escorts and such, but there may be some good that comes about with these stories – giving people a mental break from the tragic occurrences that happen frequently. As a society we have become to desensitized to the tragedies of the world that bring pain and death; and as humans, I hope we feel a bit of empathy and sympathy for those experiencing such pain. And in contrast, on the pain scale, an infidelity scandal is something that we can identify with, but not be as affected as violent tragedies.

So the next time you see CNN dedicating too much time on the latest celebrity cheating on their spouse, still condemn them, but maybe realize that they are giving a much needed break from reporting real problems in the world to reduce your fatigue.

Table of contents for Litigious Behavior

The Vocal Minority

The Vocal Minority

Ringing loudly from a few

A little Abstract: Simply put, minority groups – lifestyles, cultural, racial, were disadvantaged because their concerns went unheard in the general public – primarily due to the availability of distributional channels; back in the day, the only way to really rally, garner support were through newspapers, TV (if you could get the airtime), and word of mouth. In times of social unrest throughout the world, the ‘grassroots’ campaign has been the movement of choice for sparking change and voicing dissent – from the pamphlets that used to be passed around in the dens preceding the Spanish revolution to speak of injustices, to the rallies that started in the deep south in the U.S. circa 1960’s that spread across the nation – it has shown us that the minority, though small, can be very vocal in expressing their dissent.

Enter the digital age with communications passing at lightning speeds; grassroots groups can now quickly spread their message around – gaining members, support, and exposure. The most recent and salient example of this would be Obama’s 2008 U.S. presidential campaign as the mastermind of his campaign utilized the power of social network’s to connect with people; the campaign was able to quickly organize rallies and spread campaign messages to thousands of people instantly. It is said that it is because of Obama’s clever use of grassroots movement ‘mentality’ that lead him to victory in the election – in an election that everyone initially thought he had no chance in winning.

Essentially, most grassroots movements focus around inequity; the imbalance of a system – and the movements try to disrupt and/or change the lifestyle of the majority. Some of the movements I support, but for some …. I don’t know. These movements are very vocal, but their cause – I can’t identify with and/or subscribe, or I just don’t get the logic in how they expressed themselves. There are even full sites that give guides and tutorials on how to start Grassroots sites (click here) with plenty of resources.

The Doubters

No need to explain what doubt is; should be a universal concept as we experience everyday in our lives. Whenever you have an event, or a belief, there will always be two points of view – the Advocators and the Doubters. Let’s examine the Doubters; specifically in the light of substantial empirical evidence. Call them ignorant, believers, or motivationally driven, these people pronounce an opposing stance in the face of adversity; such as those that don’t believe in the moon landing by NASA. Maybe call them the ‘conspirators’ actually, as they cast doubt and mystery behind many of life’s popular events; and they gain traction via social networking sites and mobile technology to amplify their belief.

I only dread as the world gets increasingly smaller with communications, that the world on a whole, will be much louder – get your earmuffs out.

Jasiri X – Blackface

Just getting caught up on Jasiri X as he is capturing the essence of how this thing called hip-hop got started; that is by reporting on the issues that affect the black/urban community via rap. Apparently he has weekly music videos that are a summation of the weekly events, this week in particular focuses on the re-emergence of ‘Blackface’ entertainment; as featured on CNN and YouTube.
Check out his YouTube channel here at http://www.youtube.com/user/jasirix

tan(012) – Death Squads, Happy People, Work Whispers

Preamble: Been kind of light on the tangents, not that sh*t isn’t pissing me off, I guess I am just controlling what does and does not piss me off. Its a slow curve to equilibrium, but I’m gettin gthere.

Quiet Whispers

It always humors me when I am at work, and their will be two people talking regularly, then suddenly they creep away from you and their voices become softer and then non-coherent. This is done for one or two reasons; first reason would be that the conversation has suddenly changed to the topic of ‘you’ or someone that is close to ‘you’. The second reason would be is that they are talking about something that is ‘socially inappropriate’ at work. Either or, my whole thing is that I could really not be interested in what they have to say – I really don’t give a f**k. Even if you are talking about me or not, you are so irrelevant from my world that the best thing that I can say, well, what I WISH I could say, is by the great lyricist Styles P in a bar, “I don’t give a f–k who you are, so F–K who you are!”. Yup, that sums it up definitively.

Death Squads

The healthcare debate in the U.S. is very tense; as many people (as they should be) have passionate opinions on the current state of healthcare and where it should go. Obama’s plan is getting not so favorable reviews from both Democrats & Republicans alike, and at the Town Hall meetings, tempers are high – with many people shouting, pushing, and even fighting each other. The Republicans, along with their media outlet (Fox News) are pushing an interesting rhetoric, such as “Death Squads”, and “let’s take back our country”, and proclaiming that Obama and his goonies are socialists. Glenn Beck, the actor/news reporter (that was an intentional ‘/’ used to describe him) is even making arguments to compare the Obama administration to Nazi Germany. Below, are some funny and telling clips of how media, if not followed closely, can easily mislead and persuade a masses – it also shows double speak. Double speak is the fine art of:
“language constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often resulting in a communication bypass. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., “downsizing” for layoffs) or deliberate ambiguity.”

Happy People
When I say ‘happy people’, I am referring to those that always have a smile on their face; they are always grinning from ear to ear. In the morning, afternoon, the night, during the cold winters, and the scorching heat – always smiling. What is up with that? Maybe I am just grumpy, but I feel some sort of hateration when I see these individuals; as I am secretly wishing to bask in what they are projecting. However, I take solace in the fact that what they are projecting is probably a mask to cover up something else, so I justify my hate, and I am content with that.

Riots and Rallies

The differences and effects of the two forms of ‘protest’

Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence, vandalism or other crime. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are typically chaotic and exhibit herd behavior.

Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Historically, riots have occurred due to poor working or living conditions, government oppression, taxation or conscription, conflicts between races or religions, the outcome of a sporting event or frustration with legal channels through which to air grievances.

Riots typically involve vandalism and the destruction of private and public property. The specific property to be targeted varies depending on the cause of the riot and the inclinations of those involved. Targets can include shops, cars, restaurants, state-owned institutions, and religious buildings.

Rallies
A demonstration is a form of non-violent action by groups of people in favor of a political or other cause, normally consisting of walking in a march and a meeting (rally) to hear speakers. Actions such as blockades and sit-ins may also be referred to as demonstrations.

The term has been in use since the mid-19th century, as was the term ‘monster meeting’, which was coined initially with reference to the huge assemblies of protesters inspired by Daniel O’Connell in Ireland. Demonstrations are a form of activism, usually taking the form of a public gathering of people in a rally or walking in a march. At times, more interventionist actions such as blockades and sit-ins have been referred to as demonstrations. Thus, the opinion is demonstrated to be significant by gathering in a crowd associated with that opinion.

Past Social upheavals

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals and labour activists in the People’s Republic of China between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. The demonstrations centred on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Government retaliation was often violent and riots broke out in affected regions. In 2005, the Chinese government admitted to 87,000 demonstrations and riots across China

Result: Remains to be seen as China is still a Communist nation but is embracing western ideologies slowly.

The worst riots in United States history with respect to lives lost took place during the Civil War when immigrant factory workers forcibly resisted the federal government’s military draft, the New York Draft Riots.

The 1992 Los Angeles riots, triggered by the Rodney King Trial were regarded as the worst in recent U.S. history with deaths estimated at 54 people and nearly a billion dollars in damage caused.

Shoe Throwing Hero

The Iraqi journalist that did the impossible by throwing 2 shoes at former President George Bush in 2008; also to note, that Bush has remarkable skills in ducking – no one would have figured that those shoes would miss him, but Bush can sure duck shoes (as like responsiblity .. a la Kartina). The hometown of where the journalist was from, the locals constructed a monument of the infamouse shoe. I guess we all got to find hope wherever we find it; even though if I was in that town, I would prefer to spend time and energy in finding food for its people … but c’est la vie.

Abstract Art of President Obama

Yes, its good that I got to get used to saying ‘President Obama’, no more longer of this ‘President Elect’ stuff. Many people have been inspired regading Obama and the election, and the subsequent innaugaration. The message of hope & change has inspired many to create posters, flyers, and other artwork of Obama. Thus, I have compiled some examples of the best of the best:

Midnight Regulations

Added work from the Bush Administration

As if Obama doesn’t have enough to deal with: war in Iraq/Afghanistan, recession, eroding environment, and the Mideast now in chaos, the proponent for ‘change’ also will have to handle Midnight Regulations. Midnight regulations is a term for United States federal government regulations promulgated by executive branch agencies in the lame duck period of an outgoing President’s administration. Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush have made the most extensive use of midnight regulations; as it allows an outgoing President to put through the motions of regulatory changes at any branch of the government, and since U.S. federal law mandates a 60-day waiting period before any major regulatory changes, the elected President will have to deal with any beauracies regarding the law. All accountability to either pass or renege the law lies now on the elected President, even though the outgoing president put the law in motion. Democratically speaking, this is a sneaky way for an outgoing President to try to pass all the laws that he/she couldn’t during their presidency.

Thus, some Presidents try to publish new major regulations on November 21, 60 days before the new President’s inauguration on January 20. “Minor” regulations, those that have less than US$100 million in effect on the economy or do not have major social policy significance, have a similar 30-day waiting period

Already, it has been reported that the Bush Administration is feverently midnight regulating, touching everything from business practices, to removing environmental emissions caps for businesses, and even touching sensitive topics like Abortion. With the thought of Midnight regulations at the back of his mind, it is no wonder he has hit the ground running trying to deal with the Auto bailout, and stimulus packages, because come January 20, 2009, the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

Let’s hope this effect is something of the past ….

The Bradley effect is named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African-American who ran for California governor in 1982. Exit polls showed Bradley leading by a wide margin, and the Democrat confidentially thought it would be an early election night. But Bradley and the polls were wrong. He lost to Republican George Deukmejian. The theory was that polling was wrong because some voters, who did not want to appear bigoted, said they voted for Bradley even though they did not. “People will usually tell you how they voted after the election, but we found in the Bradley campaign … that people were actually not telling us who they voted for,” said Charles Henry, who researched Bradley’s election.

I hope for the best, but I always had this thought in the back of my mind – let’s pray that I am wrong and that America has changed, yes they are still a few of those Americans that think that Obama is a Arab & a Terrorist, but they all watch Fox News …. and their viewership is decreasing day by day.

Rappers constantly beef with each other, of all the other musical genres, hip-hop music has to have the most animosity amongst its artists. Rappers have gained a career (a la 50 cent) by dissing and feuding with other rappers and their respective camps, and of course, some rappers have also perished of beef (R.I.P. Tupac & Biggie). The causes and reasons for beefing are self-serving at best; it can be looked at an attempt for one rapper to gain notoriety for dissing another or it can stem from a real personal beef that began before the music. Lately, it has been the former, as many rappers will diss others so that they can get heavy rotation in the rumor mill and spill cycle – this usually happens just around the time when they are releasing an album. At times though, the reason for beefing can seem silly at best, some of these beefs include:

– DFB beefing with D4L over who created the ‘Lean with it rock with it’ dance
* note: both groups are irrelevant

– Ice-T dissing Soulja Boy because he thinks he is corny

– 50 Cent dissing Ja Rule for singing on the tracks, but then 50 Cent makes a career of singing on tracks (’21 Questions’, ‘candy shop’, ‘ayo technology’)

– The rise of local/up and coming rappers jacking somewhat-established rappers (like Yung Berg), taking their jewellery, and showing such jewellery on YouTube
* note: YouTube jackings of rappers is a growing and alarming trend, rappers need to get their insurance game up!

Not one to condone beefing or dissing, but I think that rappers need to step up their game and take their dissing/beef to the next plateau; I mean verbally attacking a fellow rapper, saying that you are going to kill him, rob him, et cetera, is not that realistic – rappers should really be beefing with people that are detrimenting their community and society. Hip-Hop, in its childhood was heralded as a genre to address social issues and injustices, the classic song ‘The Message’, had a real message of how politics, media, and the government had left many inner city New York communities in perils.

Somewhere, along hip-hop’s progression, the pursuit of using music for ‘social messages’ subsided for the pursuit of material wealth. Well, if a rapper is going to ‘clap’ at anyone, it should not be his fellow brethren, it should maybe be somebody like:

Bill O’ReillyThe popular Fox News pundit has a successful show called the O’Reilly Factor, where the tagline is ‘No Spin Zone’, this guy has been described as a neo, fascist, racist, biased reporter – everything from calling Michelle Obama Barrack’s “Baby Mama”, to actually challenging rappers; O’Reilly made Ludacris lose a sponsorship deal with PepsiCo over O’Reilly’s rant of Ludacris and his questionable misogynistic lyrics.

Lou DobbsIf I see another report on illegal immigrants from this guy, I will go crazy. Dobbs complains how jobs are being taken from Americans by migrant workers, but what he fails to realize most times that the jobs that are being ‘taken’ are the ones that average Americans will not do.

GWBI think Kanye said it best in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but I have to give rappers credit – they have took jabs and shots at GWB, while more underground rappers have dedicated whole songs to his legacy.

Besides this list, I am sure that rappers can find other sources for beef than another rapper that may or may not have stole their dance, swag, or jewellery.